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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. lean — thin
  4. branch — a division
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. rule — a law
  9. game — a match
  10. mine — for digging
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. chest — of your body
  16. lean — to bend
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. game — wild animals
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. chest — a box
  24. mine — an explosive

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com